1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-processing apparatus, an image-processing system, and a method for transmitting and receiving data. More specifically, the invention relates to an image-processing apparatus, an image-processing system, and a method for transmitting and receiving data, all of which are suited for transmitting and receiving data among a plurality of image-processing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an image-processing apparatus such as a scanner, a printer, or a facsimile is commonly used in the form of being connected to a network. In such form of use, there is developed a technology for transmitting and receiving data among a plurality of image-processing apparatuses. When data is transmitted and received among image-processing apparatuses, there are data transmitter and a data receiver. Insofar as the receiver does not read and delete data transmitted from the transmitter, the state of the data being stored in either the transmitting image-processing apparatus or the receiving image-processing apparatus continues. If this state continues, the amount of capacity available for storing the data decreases, which disables effective use of the storing area.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-308770 describes an electronic-mail control method comprising: judging, upon every receipt of an e-mail, whether there are more than a predetermined number of unchecked e-mails; transmitting, when more than the predetermined number of unchecked mails are judged to exist, a cancel inquiry mail to the transmitting source of the received electronic mail, the cancel inquiry mail inquiring whether the electronic mail should be deleted; and deleting the electronic mail when the transmitting source transmits, in response to the cancel inquiry mail, a cancel mail to instruct cancellation of the received electronic mail.
However, in the electronic-mail control method described in the 10-308770 publication, since unchecked electronic mails are stored in the electronic mail server, the available capacities of the storing devices in the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus do not decrease even if there are unchecked electronic mails. In addition, the method involves inquiring the transmitting source of the electronic mail whether there are more than a predetermined number of unchecked electronic mails, and without the operation of electronic-mail checking, the transmitting source of the electronic mail cannot even know electronic-mail arrival.